


Together Again, Chapter II

by allthetrek



Series: Together Again [2]
Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Discovery
Genre: Angst, Gen, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-09
Updated: 2019-03-09
Packaged: 2019-11-14 13:45:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18053630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allthetrek/pseuds/allthetrek
Summary: You and Captain Pike have been reconnecting since he returned from his five year mission. He goes to your quarters at the end of his shift to be with you, but you don’t respond. Pike contemplates the state of your relationship…





	Together Again, Chapter II

You had been working on repairs in engineering, your shift having ended hours ago. Just a few more fried injectors to switch out… Your stomach growled, having missed dinner, but you ignored it, as usual. You had let the rest of your engineering crew go get some rest at the end of their shifts. Just the skeleton night crew remained, toiling around the warp core in the main bay, while you slaved away in the jefferies tubes. Christopher had told you that you needed to learn to delegate better… His voice played in your head and you got defensive at the recording; what did he know? He was only a Starfleet trained Captain, with an entire crew to manage. Ugh… Okay. Just a few more minutes, then you would go get some rest.

Your work was almost meditative to you, therapeutic. The resonance of a perfectly coupled warp injector was music to your ears, the sound of everything in the universe just as it should be. This was an art to you, and you were damn good at it.

You had taken your jacket off; the heat of the conduits and the ambient temperature of the engineering bay made things quite toasty. You grabbed your Starfleet blue jacket and bunched it up into a pillow, propping it behind your head as you lay back on the metal grating beside the open access panel you were working on. You intended to close your weary eyes for just a few minutes. The hum of the warp core carried from the bay into the jefferies tube where you lay. The warm air circulated around you, your eyes grew heavy, your body powering down as soon as you gave it the chance, and you fell into a deep sleep…

***Elsewhere on Discovery…***

Christopher finished his logs and reports for the evening, and proceeded to your quarters to spend the night with you, his beloved wife. You still maintained separate quarters, Chris being stationed only temporarily on the Discovery for now, but you always ended up in one or the others at the end of the day. He arrived at his destination and hit the pad adjacent to your door to alert you to his presence. No response. He lingered there for a minute; he was positive you had finished your shift, and you usually waited for him before going to sleep…

The Captain’s mind started to race, going over your last interaction, everything he had said to you. Did he do something wrong? He had worked late, yet again, was that it? He thought things were going well between the two of you, that you were reconnecting after 5 years apart. Maybe he was wrong, maybe you resented him for leaving you for so long.

The thought of you resenting him pained him greatly; his chest becoming tight at the thought as he stood there in front of your quarters. He pressed the button again, hearing the muffled alert resonate from behind doors he would not enter without your permission. His mind jumped to thoughts of losing you, the only thing that had kept him going during the most physically and mentally grueling parts of his last mission. The things he had endured, and on top of it not having you there; only your voice in his head always guiding him, encouraging him, giving him the love he needed to keep going.

He wasn’t going to push you, not tonight, not ever. If you needed space, then that’s exactly what he would give you. Your ever-patient, doting husband. He always had been, always looking for ways to make you smile, brighten your day, make your life easier, take care of you. But now, he had chosen his own dreams of space exploration, something he had dreamed of since childhood, over the love of his life. Maybe he had two loves, but not anymore. Now that he had been away on the Enterprise, he had a new appreciation for the life he had with you. Maybe, though, it was too little, too late.

Christopher turned and walked away from your quarters, having no idea that you were actually fast asleep in the engineering jefferies tube. You weren’t mad at him at all. You had been trying to reconnect with him, to focus on the fact that he was back, and had promised you that this time it would be for good. You didn’t resent him for leaving to explore brave new worlds. That was his dream, and you supported his dreams. You supported each other, that was the point of your relationship, wasn’t it? You could have made him stay, but that would have held him back, and he wouldn’t be the person he was now.

You had noticed subtle changes in each other from your time apart. There was a slight weariness, a hesitation in Chris since he’d returned, that you didn’t remember him having before. Your once ultra-confident husband now had something lurking beneath his surface, and you hadn’t quite gotten to what it was. Nothing sinister, of course, just the feeling that something had happened that had changed him, made him doubt himself, perhaps. Whatever it was, time would tell, and you would embrace the man he was now, there was no question of that.

His being away had affected you as well. Not knowing whether or not he was alive sometimes, or in mortal danger, or even just if he was lonely. Even that tore you up inside. So, you had buried yourself in your work, maybe too much, isolating yourself sometimes. Your crewmates would help pull you out of your isolation, coming to get you to join them for a meal when they knew you hadn’t eaten all day. Sometimes you would play Kal-toh with Michael, or train with Tilly. They could relate; they, too, had friends and family elsewhere in the galaxy. They knew what it was like to miss someone, to be missing a piece that had become so much a part of you.

Christopher made his way to the Captain’s quarters, getting ready for bed and climbing under the covers, your usual warmth noticeably absent. It appeared that he would be sleeping alone tonight. His mind processed all of the possible messages you were trying to send him. He had noticed changes in you, too, since his return. You seemed more closed-off to him, to everyone really, than he remembered. Heartbreak can do that to a person. You were reluctant to truly let anyone in anymore, and had been resisting letting Christopher back into your heart. It would come with time, he hoped. But on a night like tonight, fear cloyed at his heart, a look of worry on his face as he stared at the ceiling of his quarters, alone in the dark.

***Next Morning***

Christopher started his shift early the next morning, making his usual ship-wide rounds. He saved engineering for last, mustering up the courage to face you. Whatever issues arose between the two of you, he was one to talk about it, to communicate and make things right. Whatever was going on, he would fix it, he had to.

He made his way down the corridors to engineering, nodding good morning to the many crewmembers he passed along the way. Once there, he inquired about your location, and was directed to the starboard access hatch. Captain Pike proceeded apprehensively into the jefferies tube, crouching over slightly to walk inside. He made his way down the narrow corridor, his boots clacking softly on the metal grating; wiring and conduits pulsating through the slats beneath him.

That’s when he saw you, lying there, and he hurried his pace to see if you were alright. Your eyes were closed, a look of blissful relaxation on your face, your hair awry atop the jacket your head rested upon. Your breathing was slow and steady, one arm lay at your side, the other was draped across your abdomen. Christopher realized you were fast asleep, and from the looks of it, you had been here for a while.

Realization dawned on him about last night, and he felt his face flush slightly in relief, smiling to himself self-deprecatingly. It had all been in his head, he had gotten himself completely worked up and you were right here, passed out because you worked yourself into oblivion yet again. Christopher stared down at your sweet face, your disheveled appearance no bother to him. You were as breathtaking as the day he first laid his cerulean blue eyes on you.

He almost didn’t want to wake you from your slumber, knowing you probably needed it. His hand came to your shoulder and he roused you gently. “[Y/N]! Wake up!” he prodded, his voice threading through your auditory system, your brain slowly processing the intrusion. Your eyes fluttered open as you regained consciousness, disoriented at the space you found yourself in. It wasn’t your quarters, though this was admittedly not the first time you’d fallen asleep working extra-long hours in engineering…

You looked up at Christopher, his warm smile putting you at ease; the best first thing to see in the morning.

“Good morning, Beautiful,” he said sweetly, his hand on your back helping you sit up. You felt the ache of your back from sleeping on the hard metal grating of the tube. You rubbed it gingerly, then allowed him to help you up, hunched over slightly to avoid hitting your head on the low metal ceiling of the corridor.

“Good morning,” you replied, your voice cracking from your slumber. His arms came around you and he pulled you close, your arms reciprocating his gesture, tracing steadily up and down his back as you felt his love envelop you. He nuzzled into your neck, his lips finding your delicate skin and you felt him kiss you below your earlobe. You smiled at the sensation, sighing and relaxing into his arms. Christopher felt your warm presence against him, a welcome reunion after the worrisome night he’d had without you.

Your stomach growled loudly, audible to both of you. Christopher let you go, looking down at you knowingly. “When was the last time you had something to eat?” he queried, his eyebrow raised. He knew you too well.

“Er, um…,” you replied, wracking your groggy and glucose-deprived brain for an answer.

“That’s what I thought. Come on, get some breakfast with me,” he stated, his eyes staring lovingly into yours as his hand came to smooth some stray strands of hair down at your temple. You nodded, bending down to pick up your jacket which you donned. Christopher gestured for you to walk in front of him, allowing you past and escorting you out of the jefferies tube. You felt his fingertips come to the small of your back, guiding you and providing a gentle reminder of his presence. Never would Christopher let you too far out of his reach again.


End file.
